Calcifer's New Spark
by Ajahli
Summary: Ed and Al find a portal from Verona to Howl's Moving Castle. The boys rediscover their talents and help Calcifer to gain a new kind of spark, along with their own. Takes place after the FMA movie and Book 2 of Howl's Moving Castle.
1. Author Notes

I like to leave Author's notes for my stories so people will understand me.

REMEMBER: If you don't get something it will probably be explained later!

#1 THING! DON'T READ THIS IF YOU HAVENT SEEN THE FMA MOVIE YET. YOU CAN, BUT KNOW THAT THERE ARE SPOILERS! THERE ARE A FEW HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE SPOILERS, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE SECOND BOOK (OR EVEN THE FIRST) OR YOU HAVENT SEEN THE MOVIE I WOULD RECOMMEND READING WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED XD CAUSE YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE VERY LOST!

So here's all I ask when you read my story:

Know that not ALL fans are huge fans, and not all of us know everything or caught every single secret in the episodes. Yes, I have seen all the episodes. Yes I have seen the movie. No I have not yet read the manga sadness but I have played the first game and am currently playing the second (cept I gave up cause it was hard xD) so just be aware that I probably don't know or understand everything quite yet. I am trying hard to stay in character for the characters so bear with me if something is off-ish. I am also using Nii-san for Al, cause it's cuter than "Brother" but I won't be throwing in any random Japanese because I don't know Japanese, I am NOT Japanese, and I am not trying to be Japanese TT SO there.

Anyway, this takes place AFTER the Conqueror of Shambala and after the second book/movie of Howl's Moving Castle. Therefore, I have included things from the second book and the original books of Howl, but I haven't included everything so as not to confuse everyone. In the second book Howl and Sophie have a baby named Morgan, and Sophie's hair is still brown. So I'm using those things. I'm trying not to change too much, but if I slip and say "Michael" instead of "Markyl" just know that Michael was his name in the book ;;;

Oh yes and I've never been to Verona in Italy, especially not during WW2 so uhh…just disregard it if anything is off xD I just needed to use some place for Ed and Al to be in.

I AM NOT COLLABORATING ON THIS PROJECT. I appreciate ideas but please don't ask to work on it with me, that's happened before and we ended up ruining the story  So yeah…just don't ask.

-/ENDRANT


	2. Italy

**Calcifer's New Spark**

**CHAPTER ONE: ITALY**

Edward walked through the vineyards, breathing in the fresh scents that were Verona, Italy. The Elric brothers had arrived there with the others two days previous and were greeted by a storm. It poured those two days while he and Al had watched despairingly from the windows of the inn. Here they were in a new city and all they could do was wait in a stuffy room. Noah tried to make it better. She told them tales of the Romans, she taught them games she learned as a child, and read Al his fortunes. On the third day, Noah had awoken them early in the morning and led them to the vineyards through the cool fog that enveloped Verona's streets.

"Nii-san!" Al ran up and down the columns of grave vines, "It's beautiful here!" The sun had finally come out and the grapes glimmered like rhinestones in the light.

"You should see it in the winter," Noah said. She walked slowly behind Ed.

"Don't go too far, Al! Wait for us!" Ed called to his younger brother, and trotted a ways to catch up. It wasn't that he didn't want to frolic and prance in the sun, he was just taking it all in slowly, unlike Al who wanted to take it all in at once. If sightseeing was like sweets Al was sure to have a stomachache by noon.

"He'll be tired by the time we get back to the road,' Noah chuckled. "We could have used his energy to set up for the festival."

Ed sighed and scratched his head. Oh well. "I guess we'll just have to tour the rest of Verona tomorrow." He was thankful that Noah was there. She had been everywhere and knew all the history and languages. At least they would never be _completely_ lost.

"Nii-san come look at this!" Al waved from around a corner and disappeared.

"Al! Ugh." Ed ran to catch up. Noah followed close behind. Sometimes he wished Al was still in the armor. He wouldn't have to run so fast. "Al when we said sightseeing we meant one bit at a time—AAAGGH!" Ed slipped on some wet leaves before he had a chance to stop himself and screamed as he cascaded into a fence of grapevines.

"Edward! Are you all right?" Noah bent down to look through the hole Ed made when he crash landed. Al's head appeared too.

Ed spit out a mouthful of leaves and crawled out, glaring. His clothes were muddy and stained by smashed fruit. "I'm perfect," he growled.

"Well, while you're here," Al said, "look over there!" He pointed to a small yellow garden shed in the middle of an opening. It had a white roof on which vines were growing, and in the front it had a prim little door. It leaned slightly as if it were sinking into the ground.

"It's a shed," Ed stated the obvious.

"No, there's something else." Al got up and ran around it. "It looks very small from out here, but inside it looks much bigger!"

"What?" Ed stood up and flicked a grape peel off his shoulder. He went over beside Al who was peering inside the small side window. His alighted smile turned to a disappointed frown. "What's wrong?"

"I could have sworn there was more inside." Ed pressed his head against his brother's to try and see inside the tiny window. It was hard to see through such dirty glass, but what he could see was a rake, a large wooden tub and shears hanging on a wall covered in spider webs.

"It looks like an ordinary garden shed tome," said Edward. He crossed his arms and gave his younger brother a strange look.

"But there was an entire house: a table and a fire place and stairs and a dog sleeping on the rug!"

Ed stared at him. "You can't go out early anymore," he said jokingly and walked away, but Al stayed firm and defiant.

"Nii-san!" Al screamed. "Noah, you believe me, don't you?"

Noah shrugged and smiled at him.

"You! Over there!" A portly old man with a gray moustache and a gray cap stomped towards them waving a rag, his sleeves rolled up and covered in dirt. "What you think you doing here, uh?" His accent was heavy and he eyed the two blonde boys suspiciously. Noah immediately turned to him and began to apologize. He yelled at her in Italian and marched away.

"We had better go," Noah said. "He says if we come back around here he'll call the police."

"What did he say when he shook his fist at me?" Ed asked.

"You don't want to know."

That night, Al sat on his bed by the window, staring at the night sky. A warm breeze was blowing in and it soothed him. All day Ed had teased him about the "imaginary" house in the shed and in return he had been bitter and short. He felt bad for being that way, but he wasn't lying! He had seen it with his own eyes!

Ed sat in the other corner polishing his auto mail. It was taking forever to get the stains out of the metal. He saw Al from the corner of his eye, solemn as ever. "You're not still upset about this morning, are you?"

"Hmph!" was Al's solid reply.

"Oh come on, Al."

"Never."

"This is almost as bad as that time we fought about the homunculus."

"Which time? I can't remember." Al lied through his teeth. He had regained most of his memories, and that one was a particularly easy one to remember, but he wouldn't recall it. Not if it gave Ed satisfaction.

"You remember, I know you do," Ed said just as angrily. "And it's almost as bad as that time when you thought I created memories for you! And that other time when—"

"Okay, okay! Yes! It's just as bad as all those things!" Al pulled his covers up and threw himself down onto the bed. Out of all the arguments he had with Ed, this was one that he knew would not end peacefully. He refused to let it go. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I was imagining it." Okay, so _secretly_ he wouldn't let it go.

Ed smiled, turned off the lights and climbed into bed. Al turned away and faced the window. "Nii-san?"

"Hm?"

"Are you happy here, in this new world?"

"Why are you asking something like that?"

"It's nothing… you just seem different somehow."

"Different?" Ed sat up.

Al could feel his brother's eyes burning into the back of his head. "Good night, Nii-san."

"Good night Al."


	3. Through the Door

**Calcifer's New Spark**

**CHAPTER TWO- THROUGH THE DOOR**

"Al!" Ed ran upstairs, threw his coat on and stumbled as he tried to put on his boots in the quickest way possible. "AL! Get up! Noah wants to show us the neighborhood before we start work on the festival! I can't believe you slept in so late!" Ed tapped the leg with his auto mail on the floor to make sure his boot was on tight. No answer came from Al. "Al?" He went over to the bed and pulled back the covers.

Pillows.

Great.

"Al! He ran out of the room, shoved his way past a couple on the stairs and bounded outside where Noah helped the others load up the truck with crates. "Noah! Have you seen Al?"

"No," she replied, surprised. "I thought perhaps he had slept in. He ran around quite a lot yesterday."

"No!" Ed shouted. "He's gone! He didn't even tell me! He didn't even leave a note—"

"Oh, this is for you." Ed yelped in surprise at the voice in his ear. The gypsy who looked like Lust stood there solemnly, holding a small piece of paper between two fingers. "I meant to deliver it earlier but you were so busy drooling on your pillow I thought better of it."

_Why couldn't she have stayed nice, like she was before she died?_ Al thought bitterly and snatched the note away, scowling. He read it aloud.

_"Nii-san,_

_You don't believe me, but I'm going to prove to you that what I saw yesterday was real! Don't worry; I'll come back…maybe._

_-Alphonse"_

"Why that little--!" Ed crunched up the note. "I'll be back!" he screamed as though he were announcing it for the whole city to hear. Noah and Lust covered their ears. "He's gunna get it, big time!" He marched off towards the vineyards with the note crunched into his fist, and he made a kick for a flock of pigeons as he went.

"Have you seen a boy? He's thirteen, wears a red coat and has blonde hair."

"No, no sorry."

Ed had asked anyone he came across and none of them had seen Al. Either that or no one really knew what he was talking about and told him no to make him go away. The vineyard was full of workers in the afternoon and no one seemed too perturbed that he was there browsing freely. Maybe if he had come earlier in the morning he would have had a better chance. What if Al was caught? That was all he needed. He asked one more person and he was turned away once again. "I'll kill him," Ed said as he walked away and came face to face with a familiar opening where the shed stood, laughing at him. _I'm the devil_, it seemed to say. _I made your brother go away. _ Ed looked between the grape vines and around the shed. He even looked inside and studied every corner just in case. No brother. "Damn it all." Maybe Al had realized that it was all pointless and went back to the inn? Grumbling, he left the opening and headed back the way he had come.

He was fine until he saw a spot in the distance, a small gray looking spot backed by a tremendous black mob in uniform. The old man from the day before saw him and pointed him out, yelling in Italian, cursing most likely.

_Crap_, Ed turned on his heel and walked quickly in the opposite direction. He looked over his shoulder. They were gaining on him_. Okay Edward_, he thought to himself, _RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! _ Workers dropped their baskets and fell into the grape vines as he sped past, shouting apologies. He could hear the police yelling at him to stop, but he kept running_. One day he catches us by his shed and he's already got security rounded up to arrest us! I bet Al did something to piss him off even more. Unless… _ Unless that shed had something the old man didn't want them to see. Ed smiled. It was like the old days again.

So to the shed he ran—full speed!

He guessed Al had figured out the mystery. Perhaps there wasn't really a house inside of that dingy old shed, but whatever it was Al really saw was probably why the old man was so quick to come and shoo them away. He supposed the rest of the vineyard was touchable, but then you'd think he would at least do a better job of hiding what he didn't want seen.

Ed rounded the corner and slipped once again, but caught himself just in time. For a moment the sounds of the police had vanished. There was no one else around. He scrambled to his feet and made a mad dash for the shed, but before he could reach it he felt himself sinking into the ground, and soon he was up to his knees in mud and grass. "Must…keep…going…" He gritted his teeth and plowed through. He didn't remember this being here yesterday! The bastard probably put it there last night. He reached up and took hold of the rusty doorknob. It cracked open under protest, but he was able to lift himself up and place his feet firmly on the wooden threshold. He heard the police and spun around to see the old man had found him. The police looked dumbfounded and the ground shuddered beneath them. It became solid, but instead of going back to normal the grass began to roll up like a rug and came toward him.

"What the—!" He felt something grab his coat and pull him through the shed door.


	4. The Wizard, Howl

NOTES: Sorry if the first two chapters were a bit boring, I didn't want to overload everyone with chapters. It's been a while since I wrote a fanfic, since I only recently discovered that they put the Gorillaz topic back up w;;; So bear with me as I try and jump back into it. For those who forgot the author note or forgot stuff, Howl and Sophie do have a baby boy in the second book, named Morgan. Howl was also more of a smart ass in the books so sorry if I shattered everyone's pretty gentleman Howl visions xD I also figured Al would probably love being in Howl's company since he's so young and naïve. I don't know if Ed would take it any worse or better than this, but that's just how I see it.

**Calcifer's New Spark**

**CHAPTER THREE- THE WIZARD HOWL**

"Nii-san!"

"Al!" Ed looked around. He had half expected to fall into a wooden tub and be beaten over the head with rusty garden tools. Instead he was sitting on a stairwell and he could hear the crackling of a fire. In front of him was the door he had come through, but next to it on the stone wall was a circle divided into four sections of different colors: red, green, yellow, and black. Ed looked back to see Al behind him, smiling wide. "Al how did—" He was interrupted by the distant sound of a baby crying.

"I guess we woke Morgan up." Al got up and climbed the stairs. "I'll be right back!"

"Wait, Al," Ed started, but Al had already disappeared from sight. Ed crawled up and poked his head over the last stair. There was a hearth that looked as if it were being swallowed by a giant turtle. It was surrounded by various armchairs and a red couch on top of a very clean embroidered rug. Beside the stairs was an alcove with a sink and a cupboard and opposite him the room opened up into a patio green and lush with grass and ferns and potted flowers. Underneath the yellow awning was a wicker rocking chair. A staircase led to the upstairs and opposite the hearth was a large dining table of shining cherry wood. Another door was shut behind it and it was surrounded by cabinets and bookshelves, and a bay window gave way to the sun. He crawled out of the stairwell cautiously on all fours, his hands rested on the wooden floor and he studied the room like a wild cat that had snuck in through the window. He listened for Al. He was too paranoid to stand up and make himself at home here. Where was here anyway? Al was right after all. All this time there had been this huge house inside and beyond the shed.

"Pssst! Hey, you! On the floor!" Ed straight up and looked around for the owner of the new voice. No one was around.

"Who is that?"

"Over here! What, am I that invisible?"

The voice was coming from the place by the hearth. Ed crawled over and peered around the armchair with its back to him. He had hoped to see a small person sitting there, but it was completely vacant. "Hello?"

"Hellooo! Up here!" A lick of flame flickered over the side of the hearth and Ed came face to face with the fire…the fire with a pair of round wide eyes. "Finally. I thought a ball of energy would be hard to miss!"

"You…you can…"

Al's footsteps sounded from the stairs and he bent over the banister to smile at Ed. "I see you've met Calcifer!" he said brightly and ran down the stairs.

"Calci-who?" Ed asked, still crouched over on the floor.

"Calcifer. He's a fire demon."

"A fire demon?" Ed wasn't sure what to think. Al was treating this all as if he had known it all his life. The elder felt as if he had stepped into his younger brother's imagination. It had been so long, he forgot to expect the unexpected.

"What's the matter Ed? Why are you on the floor like that?"

Ed crawled over to the couch and pulled himself onto it. "I think I broke my back when I landed on you." The little flame was staring warily at him, his eyes bobbing up and down with the wave of his flames. At times they rolled around and came back and looked back and forth from Al to Ed. He and Al exchanged looks for a moment before a sound from the door alerted them all.

"Verona door," Calcifer said, and before Al could reach it, the old man from the vineyard floated up the stairwell and landed gracefully on the floor.

Ed shrieked and dove off the couch. "It's him!"

Al didn't look the least bit shocked. "No fear," a young man's voice, speaking perfect English, came from the old man. "It wasn't until the last minute that I realized who you were."

"Who I was!" Ed slammed his fists onto the couch and shot straight up like a meerkats. "Who the hell are you!"

The old man removed his cap and with a swipe of his arm he had changed form completely. In the old man's place stood a tall and lank young man with shoulder length dark hair and bright and childish blue eyes. He threw the cap into the air and it became a bird and flew out the window to the outside. "My name is Howl," he said. "I've heard a lot about you, Edward Elric."

Ed got up and grabbed Al's wrist. "I'm taking my little brother and leaving now," he said and marched to the door, dragging the unwilling Al behind him. Howl moved aside and watched as Ed stomped down the staircase, threw open the door and was literally sucked out of it. "AAAAGH!" Ed clung to the threshold for dear life. He thought he was going to walk into the vineyard but instead he was dangling from a door in the sky! Al was holding tight to his brother's leg, kicking angrily as he was dragged through passing clouds.

"Nii-san! Why do you have to be so rash all the time!" he screamed and pinched Ed's real leg.

"Ow! Shut up!"

Howl's head poked over the side to look at them. Ed glared up at him. If he had a free hand he would have smacked the smile right off this guy's face! "Would you like some assistance?" he asked mockingly.

"What's going on here!" Ed demanded.

"Well I was about to tell you that this was a_ floating_ castle and that you _probably_ couldn't get back unless you had the right dial, but you walked away so quickly I didn't have a chance." Howl said this all very quickly, but even if he had said it slowly Ed, who had zero patience at this moment, wouldn't have understood a word of what he was talking about anyway.

"Liar! You weren't going to tell me anything about whatever you said. You could have stopped me but you let me do this on purpose!"

"Did I?" Howl looked thoughtfully up at nothing. "Oh, I suppose I did. Oh well, same message, different methods. Would you like a hand up?"

Without waiting for a reply, Howl took Ed's Hand and lifted him over the edge by his pants. He lifted Al in more gently. When they were in and safe, Howl closed the door and went up to the dining room. "Would you like something to eat?"

"I already ate," Ed said bitterly and rubbed his head. Howl had pushed him into a stair to make room for Al.

"I'm starving!" Al said cheerfully and joined Howl. Ed's stomach growled but he coughed to mask it, but Al heard it. "So is Ed," he added as he helped Howl get plates and cups from the cupboards.

"Go ahead and get some extra ones for the others, they should be back soon."

Ed watched the two of them from the stairs, his mouth open in disbelief. Howl and Al were like two best friends. "WHAT IS GOING ON!" he screamed. Al almost dropped the teacups he was carrying. "Al, who is this guy, where are we? Why are you acting so friendly! We have to get out of here; we don't have time for a luncheon!" After this Ed screamed long and loud, so loud that the room shook and from upstairs the baby began to cry again.

"Oh I forgot to tell you, the door to your world probably isn't there anymore," Howl laughed, embarrassed.

"WHAT? What do you mean?"

"Verona. You can't get back."

"That can't be! Why?" Ed looked shocked, even Al seemed a little scared. "We should be in Verona helping our friend Noah with the festival."

"I'm sure they can handle it on their own. They seemed pretty far along yesterday."

"Yes, but—"

"I'm very sorry," Howl said apologetically. "My spell didn't work out like I wanted. I haven't moved the castle in so long; I've grown a bit shabby. Excuse me."

_This guy's a nutcase!_ Ed thought to himself as Howl went upstairs to tend to the crying baby.

"I hope Noah and the others don't leave without us," Al said, a bit worried. "It lasts a week, but maybe they will wait for us?"

_Yes, Al. Noah knows we've been sucked through a door to a different world and will tell her entire group what has happened. They're sure to wait up for us then!_ "Why were you here in the first place? If you hadn't run off, we wouldn't be having this problem at all!"

"Me?" Al cried defensively, "Why is it my fault? You should have believed me! This is what you get for being so…so…"

"SAY IT!"

"SO STUBBORN!"

"Who's stubborn? You're just as stubborn as me!"

"'Cause we're _brothers_! _Brothers_ are supposed to trust each other!"

"Says who?"

"Says everyone!"

"Oh forget it, Al!"

"Hey, keep it down over there!" Calcifer roared from the fireplace.

"It's no use, Calcifer," Howl said from the staircase. "Morgan is wide awake anyway." He came down holding a baby with dark hair, bright shining blue eyes. Morgan sucked on his thumb and stared at everything.

"Sorry, Howl," Al said and nudged Ed who apologized under his breath.

Howl pulled a chair up for himself to sit in with Morgan. "I apologize for startling you. I was the old man in the vineyard."

"I gathered that from your magic trick," Ed said. Al pulled up a chair next to him, but Ed refused to sit. He felt if he let go of the chair he was holding onto his legs might give out.

"Magic trick?" Howl laughed hard at this. He waited for Ed to respond, but Ed only looked at him. "I thought my family could use a nice vacation to Verona. I thought my barrier would hide my door from sight, but I guess you're sharper than I thought."

"What barrier?" Ed raised an eyebrow and looked at Al, who looked back and shrugged.

Howl smiled slyly. "I wouldn't expect you to see it, you being from another world and all."

Ed shot Al a look. "Sorry Nii-san. I told him."

"Your brother tells me you two are quite the alchemists!"

"We _were_," Ed said sharply before Al could speak. "We can't do it anymore, now that we're..."

Howl put up a hand to stop him from talking. "Still…" He got up and took Morgan over by the hearth. He took some toys from a basket and gave them to the baby, and left him for Calcifer to watch over. "You saw through my barrier. Your lady friend did too."

"Noah?" Ed thought for a moment. If it was a magical barrier Howl had created, it made sense for her to see it. She was a psychic after all. But he and Al were just alchemists. They were scientists, not magicians. "Hey! If the door to Verona is closed, can't your family get back?"

"Luckily Sophie took Markyl to Kingsbury to do some shopping. I'm afraid all we have to eat right now is bread and cheese…which reminds me, I should change the dial back." Howl ran to the door and Ed heard a click and voices—as if a crowd were right outside. He peered over the banister and sure enough there was a street and people walking by. Howl was looking out with his hand over his eyes. Ed looked out the window. There was a city, and trees, and people. The sky was no longer there.

"I think I will sit down now…" Ed grabbed the chair Al had pulled out for him and sat down in it as fast as he could.

"Are you feeling sick?" Howl asked from the door. "Alphonse took this a lot better than you!" Howl came upstairs, smiling.

"This has to be a dream," Ed groaned.

"No dream, sorry." Howl bowed deep. "Welcome to my castle!"


	5. Alchemy

Some notes for this chapter: sorry it took so long I got distracted but its BACK! WAHAHA. Actually I highly doubt anyone understands what I'm writing about but oh well xD Anyway, I don't really know what Edwards reaction would be to a world of magic, in the movie he seemed to think magic was ridiculous, that the Thule Society was stupid for even believing such things, so I kinda played off that a little bit. I figure in Howls world Alchemy will work a little like magic, because anything is possible. So yeah, that's my rant for now.

Calcifer's New Spark

**CHAPTER FOUR-ALCHEMY**

"Howl!" A woman's voice called from the door. Sophie's head emerged from the stairwell, followed by Markyl and the former Witch of the Waste. "Are you here?"

"Yes I'm just getting our guests settled in," Howl replied happily.

"More like tormenting them," Calcifer piped up from the fireplace, to which he just received a peaceable nod from the dark haired wizard.

Markyl dropped his heavy basket at Howl's feet. "Who is that?" he asked, pointing at Ed who sat with his head between his knees.

"This is my brother Edward," Al said. "But I don't think he's feeling too well right now."

"Oh the poor dear…" Sophie set her basket of fruit down immediately and bent down next to Ed. "He's in shock."

"I only told him the truth," said Howl.

"You all have bad ideas about who to let in here!" Calcifer declared from the hearth. Morgan giggled and clapped. "From now on, the following people are NOT allowed to be let in: Crazy old ladies, weird pets, and kids who wanna pass out because they are magically disabled!"

"Does it include loud and obnoxious fires?" the witch of the waste settled herself in an armchair.

"Only if they're from the Wastes," Calcifer retorted and scowled from behind his last sizzling log.

"Alphonse," Sophie interrupted them, "help me get your brother upstairs will you?"

"Yes ma'am!" Al helped her lift a now passed out Ed off the chair by his arms.

"He's got an odd weight on this arm," Sophie said to Ed's right."

"Edward has automai---I mean… a metal arm on that side."

"How come no one ever treats me gently when _I'm_ having a mental breakdown?!" Howl whined like a child and stared with his mouth agape at Edward and Sophie.

"They aren't breakdowns, they're temper tantrums," Sophie said with a smile. "Put the food away. I'll be down soon."

------------

Ed woke up in a strange room, surrounded by glittering objects and tapestries. For a moment he forgot where he was, and he concentrated on floating pieces about the room: purple and green gems that connected to a large silver mirror waving in a slight breeze, a dial with a searching eye, old papers tacked to the walls with pearl studded pins, red and yellow curtains hiding stacks of chests and books in one corner and a bright green and blue mechanical bird on an end table dipping its golden beak into a crystal glass of water with a small "cheep" noise. For a brief moment he was spirited away by the clutter until he felt a shift on his feet.

Heen the dog looked up at him through his mop head fur and squeaked. His whiskers tickled the nose of Al, who was snoozing with his head at his brother's feet. Heen squeaked again and flicked his tail in Al's face. Al's eyes fluttered open and settled on Ed, who looked disheveled and slightly confused. "How are you feeling Nii-san?"

"Who knows," Ed looked up at the ceiling to see more clutter.

"Don't worry. Howl says he's a wizard. He'll find a way to get us back."

"Sure he will," Ed's face contorted into an irritated frown. "He's such a great magician that he forgot how to make a door."

Al rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Howl does seem to be a little 'out there' doesn't he?" Al looked up to see Ed staring at him as if he'd said the dumbest thing in history. "What?"

"Nothing." Ed dove under the covers. "Come wake me up in a week when Howl sacrifices a virgin and fixes the stupid door."

"Nii-san!" Al pulled the covers off of his brother. "You can't stay in bed! Get up!"

"Al!"

Al jumped up and down on the bed. Heen flapped his droopy ears as he was bounced high into the air. Ed made a grab for his brother but Al jumped off just in time and bounded out the door with Ed's pants.

"Al! Come back here! I'll kill him." Ed jumped off the bed and chased after his little brother. Heen flapped after him.

"If you want them you have to come and get them!" Al jumped the last step of the staircase and stuck his tongue out. Ed tried to jump the last few stairs, got his foot caught on Heen and landed face first at the bottom with a scream.

Sophie nearly dropped her bowl of potatoes in surprise as Ed smashed into the floor.

"Sorry Ed," Al laughed and continued to taunt his older brother.

Ed jumped to his feet, growling. He glared darkly at Al, who yelped and took off running. "Give them back!" he chased Al around the table and into the veranda where he jumped on his younger brother and swiped out the pants from under him. Everyone dove out of the way as Ed stormed back through and up the stairs again, embarrassed beyond belief.

-----------------

"The reason I brought you here is because I need your help," Howl said and stuffed his mouth full of meat and potatoes. Sophie looked disapprovingly at him from the other side of the table.

"You have a funny way of asking for help," Ed said skeptically. "If you needed it so bad why did you chase us away?"

"Well I chased you away at first, yes, and I thought at first you were two snooping kids but Alphonse here fell in and told me about the two of you. You see I knew you were coming to Verona, Edward and when I found Alphonse and found out you were the two I was looking for, I decided to chase you in."

"Then what was all that stuff with the ground sinking in and trying to roll me up??"

"To test you," Howl said with a shrug.

"Then I bet you trapped us here on purpose, didn't you?"

"No…well…yes…"

Ed dropped his fork.

"Well I had only planned on saying I lost the door my accident but as it turned out I really _did_ lose it."

"Just what kind of wizard are you anyway?!" Ed banged his fists on the table. Everyone's plates went flying.

"I thought you didn't believe in magic?" Howl taunted him, totally calm.

"I don't! Magic is fake, stupid, useless rubbish! Besides Al and I can't help you. We can't do alchemy anymore."

Ed sat down hard and Al looked off a little sad and disappointed.

"Well I suppose you have a point," Howl twirled his fork in the air. "You are a little small for the big job I had prepared for you. Maybe I should find someone taller?"

"What'd you say??" Ed snapped. "Who are you calling a pathetic little worm whose stature resembles that of a bean??" Out of instinct and anger he slapped his hands together and threw them down onto the table. A wave of spikes jutted out from the top. Everyone except for Howl fell over, plates and food clattered to the floor and when it was over Ed stood there panting, veins practically popping out of his forehead. Morgan remained on one end of the table giggling and clapping while Heen squeaked and ran about the table. Al stared with his mouth open.

"Nii-san! You transmuted the table!!!!"

Howl smiled. "You were saying, Edward?"


End file.
